BEMIDJI 鈥� In a town hall meeting held Thursday night, Reed Olson, a Beltrami County commissioner and congressional candidate, announced updates to his campaign following the official release of the new district maps .
The redistricting maps released on Feb. 15 changed boundaries on a local level, with the Bemidji area no longer separated into two congressional districts.
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Bemidji is now entirely included in Minnesota鈥檚 8th Congressional District, along with all of Leech Lake, Red Lake and White Earth Nations.
This change has motivated Olson to alter his campaign plans, which he announced to a crowd of around 40 people on Thursday at the Wild Hare Bistro, a coffee shop he owns and operates in downtown Bemidji.
He is suspending his campaign to run as the DFL candidate for Minnesota鈥檚 7th Congressional District, where he would have opposed Republican incumbent Rep. Michelle Fischbach. But, he is still considering running in the 8th District.
鈥淚鈥檓 officially suspending my campaign in CD7,鈥� Olson said, adding that he and his team would be taking time for outreach before formally announcing a run for the 8th District. 鈥淲e want to do some soul searching, some strategizing.鈥�
The main goal of his campaign remains the same, however, and that is to flip the congressional seat back to blue.
鈥淥ur campaign is about flipping the seats back to where they belong, with the DFL,鈥� Olson said, adding that he thinks there鈥檚 a lot of appetite to do that in the 8th District.
The 8th District is currently represented by Republican Pete Stauber, a retired police officer from Duluth who won the seat in 2018. Before this, the district was represented by former Rep. Rick Nolan, who held the seat for the DFL for three consecutive terms after his initial election in 2012.
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Ernest Joseph Oppegaard-Peltier III, 33, also of Bemidji, had been a candidate for CD7 as well and announced earlier this week he will now run for CD8 as a member of the DFL party.
Oppegaard-Peltier is a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa in North Dakota and believes he is best suited to represent a district that includes all seven of Minnesota Anishinaabe reservations.
Theresa Lastovich, of Chisholm, was the only other DFL candidate in the race prior to this week. She announced on Friday that she was working on the withdrawal process.
"When I entered the race, the redistricting maps were not out and I couldn鈥檛 let Stauber go without someone challenging his seat,鈥� Lastovich said in a release on Friday. 鈥淣ow that Reed Olson is included in D8, he is better poised and funded to go further."
Community questions
During the town hall, Olson answered questions about his various policy positions, touching on issues of student loan forgiveness, combating climate change and the problems with corporate lobbying.
鈥淓very day (Congress) passes bills that are helping big corporations, offshoring jobs and hurting rural communities,鈥� Olson said.
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He asserted that he wants production to remain in Minnesota and that he would help new industries develop domestically and within the state as well, which he attested could help with the country鈥檚 ongoing strain on supply chains.
鈥淲e need to get back to producing things here,鈥� said Olson in reference to factories and industry jobs. 鈥淚 want these plants in Minnesota.鈥�
For Olson鈥檚 message on climate change, he cited the influence large energy and oil companies have had on impeding definitive action from being taken against carbon emissions and a warming climate.
鈥淲e know the longer we wait the more it鈥檚 going to cost,鈥� Olson said. 鈥淲e need to be the adults in the room.鈥�
Olson also made a point to emphasize the importance of recognizing how much neighbors and community members have in common, regardless of divisive rhetoric and differences in political opinions.
鈥淧eople have to start talking to each other again,鈥� Olson said. 鈥淒on鈥檛 let people steer you down these paths of division.鈥�
Throughout the discussion during the town hall, Olson made the point that the government should be working for the people and that its constituents and the electorate need to have a stronger voice in politics than multinational corporations.
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鈥淲e need to remember that we are in charge in this government,鈥� Olson said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not just for us, it is us.鈥�
Just before closing the town hall, Olson encouraged everyone to become active in their communities and local politics, since those are the areas where citizens鈥� lives are impacted every day.
His own start in politics began when he took part in the Greater Bemidji Joint Planning Board, a group that regulates zoning decisions within the city. From there he went on to be elected to the city council before winning his current seat as a county commissioner.
鈥淭he most important elections are local elections,鈥� Olson said. 鈥淩un for local office, run for the school board, for city council 鈥� get involved in those areas and volunteer in your community.鈥�
